It is well recognized that the earlier a person begins a proper oral hygiene regimen, the more likely he or she will not experience tooth decay and other serious oral hygiene related health problems in his/her adolescence and adult years. It is similarly known that children rarely follow an oral hygiene regimen without constant adult supervision and cajoling. The reasons for children's lack of enthusiasm to follow an oral hygiene regimen are many.
Some children find oral hygiene regimens to be unpleasant, since it is rarely accompanied by anything a child perceives as fun. However, since children of all ages are fascinated by animals, cartoons and/or action figures, oral hygiene regimens which could include such toys or figures stand a better chance of being followed. Other children, particularly younger ones must be supervised during oral hygiene regimens. However, younger children like to seem grown-up by doing things for themselves, so an easy-to-operate device in the shape of an animal, cartoon, or action figure which allows children to dispense oral hygiene products themselves, should encourage and motivate children to engage in and follow a regimen of proper dental care. In particular, children enjoy operating devices which dispense "hidden" contents.
Older children, even if they are inclined to follow an appropriate regimen, can be overwhelmed by the necessity to gather up all of the items necessary for proper oral health--they have to find their toothpaste, then their toothbrush, the mouthwash, a cup and then the floss. In most households, that involves opening cabinets, to gather everything and then putting it all back when they are through--a lot for a young child to do. Moreover, it is difficult to keep the child brushing and/or flossing and/or rinsing for an appropriate amount of time, which is presently determined to be 31/2 minutes.
Many devices have been proposed to assist in getting children to follow an appropriate regimen. For example, there are devices in the shape of animals or cartoon or action figures. These devices, which children may relate to fun, may invite a child to practice oral hygiene. However, most of these devices do not provide for a complete oral hygiene regimen. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,612 to Krasnoff et al., discloses an animated toy toothpaste container adapted to hold a toothbrush. To dispense toothpaste, the figure must be held, tilted and squeezed. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,870 to Wilson, provides for a toy figure which dispenses toothpaste and holds a toothbrush. To dispense toothpaste from this device, one arm of the figure must be pressed downward.
The shortcomings of both of these devices are numerous. To use either, a young child has to hold or at least press upon the device itself, which will inevitably lead to dropped toys or broken arm mechanisms. Similarly, neither device provides for the easy rinsing of the mouth or flossing, which are a necessary part of any successful oral hygiene regimen. Since both devices provide for the storing of toothpaste within the interior body of the figures, they would be difficult to adapt to dispense all of the necessary oral hygiene products.
A few all-in-one type oral hygiene dispensing devices have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,600 to Riddick et al. discloses a wall or counter mounted device in which the toothpaste and toothbrush are held inside of a housing. The dispensing device of Riddick also provides for the dispensing of mouthwash and cups, but does not provide for the dispensing of dental floss. While the Riddick et al. dispensing device allows for most of the needed oral hygiene products to be in one place, it is not child-friendly. For example, the toothpaste and toothbrushes are not in view and could be forgotten. Moreover, it is somewhat awkward for a child to go into a closed cabinet. Additionally, it is bulky in shape and would not naturally encourage a child to complete his/her oral hygiene regimen.
Importantly, none of the oral hygiene dispensing devices provides for any mechanism to keep the child brushing and/or flossing and/or rinsing for an appropriate amount of time, which is presently determined to be 3 minutes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which conveniently holds several oral hygiene products and which provides for the easy dispensing of such products.
It is a further object of this invention to provide for a device for holding and dispensing oral hygiene products which is directed to children.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide for a device for holding and dispensing oral hygiene products which can be integrated into a method of oral hygiene directed towards children.
The above objects of the present invention will be more fully understood, and further objects and advantages will become apparent, from the following description of the invention.